Women on the Global Airwaves is a podcast series bringing you stories from around the world. The stories are brought to you by me, Birgitte Jallov, who has worked in this area for a lifetime from within my initiative: EMPOWERHOUSE. In many realities women’s voices are among those least heard and women are often not being respected with equal access to their human rights.Women in community radio anre working to change these narratives and realities. They ensure that women’s voices and stories and sharing their life and realities in the public, increasing the respect and space.

Impact assessments of community media on different continents and in different realities have shown that when community media break the silence, unhealthy traditions change. It takes some time, but it happens. One of the most prominent impacts I have found when working in communities everywhere is, that violence against women and children has decreased, and that women have begun to have a more active, visible and respected role in the community.In this podcast series the community radio women will, themselves, identify and document their experiences with community media as platforms and channels for empowering women and increasing women’s role in the concrete communities and in consequence thereof, in society in general. And the podcasts seek answers to why and how – or why not?

Birgitte Jallov is the founding Director of EMPOWERHOUSE, and has since 1980 supported community media most of the 70 countries, where she has worked. Convinced that values are at the core of good developments, hers are found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Feminism and the principle that people should speak for themselves. Birgitte is an advocate, trainer, midwife and believer in the power of building sustainable ‘people’s communication channels’ and women’s important role in and around the media. Birgitte’s experience around the power of community media – and how to turn them sustainable – is reflected in her book: ‘EMPOWERMENT RADIO – Voices building a community’.

Come join us!